Science Explains Why Women Are Always Freezing at Work

In a new report published Monday in Nature, researchers found that most office building temperatures are set using a decades-old formula for a “thermal comfort model” that takes into account factors like air temperature, air speed, and clothing insulation. That’s converted into a seven-point scale and compared to the Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied, which gauges how many people are likely to feel uncomfortably cool or warm.

The problem is that one variable in that formula is inherently sexist. Turns out that the resting metabolic rate, or the measure of how fast we generate heat, that’s used in the calculation is based on a 40-year-old man weighing about 154 pounds. But women, who make up half of today’s workforce, typically have slower metabolic rates because they’re on average smaller and have more body fat. Thus, the study says the current “thermal comfort model” may overestimate women’s resting heat production by up to 35%.

Women’s physiology and wardrobe selection are also factors. Joost van Hoof, a building physicist at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, was not involved in the study, but provided this memorable commentary to The New York Times:

“Many men, they wear suits and ties, and women tend to dress sometimes with cleavage. The cleavage is closer to the core of the body, so the temperature difference between the air temperature and the body temperature there is higher when it’s cold. I wouldn’t overestimate the effect of cleavage, but it’s there.”

What’s there to do about the problem? The study offers this solution: change the temperature setting formula. Accounting for women’s metabolic rates and body tissue insulation, female workers might prefer a 75 degree Fahrenheit office, the Times says. Typical office temperatures now hover around 70 degrees.

Life Before Equal Pay Day: Portrait of a Working Mother in the 1950s

Jennie Magill with her family in the background.

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Working mother Jennie Magill shopping with her children at the super market.

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Jennie and Jim Magill in the kitchen.

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Jennie Magill and family in the kitchen.

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Caption from LIFE. Wifely kiss is Jim's reward for helping with the dishes.

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Jennie Magill at work.

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Caption from LIFE. Companionable lunch with the girls from store is lots better, says Jennie, than a sandwich in solitude at home. "Through Jennie's friends at work," says Jim, "I've met a lot of people I wouldn't have met otherwise."

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Caption from LIFE. Her work is a source of pride to Jim. "She' has done a terrific job. And when I tell her about my work she doesn't brush it off."

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Caption from LIFE. Going home, Jim always picks Jennie up at Carson Pirie Scott branch. The ride home is a chance to talk without domestic distractions.

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Jennie and Jim Magill coming home from work.

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Caption from LIFE. Taking over the family reins when she gets home, Jennie holds Jackie, 2, who tests cake which he "helped" housekeeper Sophia Flewelling (left) to bake. Sophie runs household smoothly while parents are gone.

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Jennie Magill and family.

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Jennie Magill ironing with her daughter.

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Jennie Magill with her children.

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Jennie Magill comforting her crying daughter.

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Jennie Magill with her children.

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Jennie Magill reading a story to her children.

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Caption from LIFE. Bill-paying is disagreeable, but it reminds them of how well they live because Jennie works. "It's nice not to have that lost feeling," says Jim. "Now when we see a piece of furniture we want, we buy it."

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Jennie Magill kisses her children goodbye.

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